Dangerous Miracle : The Extraordinary History of Antibiotics – and How We’re Burning Through Them

‘Riveting … In combining the passion of Robert Macfarlane with the incisiveness of Patrick Radden Keefe, Shaw has announced himself as a brilliant new voice in science writing’ RACHEL CLARKE, SPECTATOR** A SUNDAY TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 **Antibiotics are powerful, vital and lifesaving; but our access to them is under threat.Discover their miraculous history and how we confront their uncertain future. Antibiotics: one of humanity’s greatest achievements – but invented by microbes. A life-changing journey of discovery and innovation – but also of power, politics and profiteering, and the extraction and exploitation of the natural world. We have mistakenly come to regard antibiotics as cheap, available and everlasting; they are not, and each time we use them we risk resistance and their future effectiveness.This is the spellbinding story of how we learned to harness the fossil fuels of medicine – and a compelling call to adapt fast, so they can hold a place in our future. 'This history of scientific discovery and corporate greed chronicles arguably the most significant technological advance of the 20th century … A lively history and a stark warning’ SUNDAY TIMES'Brilliant' TIM SPECTOR 'Excellent' HENRY MARSH 'Fascinating' SARAH GILBERT 'Thrilling' VENKI RAMAKRISHNAN 'Absolutely essential' KATE BINGHAM'Absorbing' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Superb' LITERARY REVIEW'A triumph' SCIENCE